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Vice President of the United States

For a list of vice presidents of the United States, see List of vice presidents of the United States.

Vice President of the United States
Vice presidential seal
Vice presidential flag
Incumbent
Kamala Harris
since January 20, 2021
Style
Status
Member of
ResidenceNumber One Observatory Circle
SeatWashington, D.C.
AppointerElectoral College, or, if vacant, President of the United States via congressional confirmation
Term lengthFour years, no term limit
Constituting instrumentConstitution of the United States
FormationMarch 4, 1789 (1789-03-04)[1][2][3]
First holderJohn Adams[4]
SuccessionFirst[5]
Unofficial namesVPOTUS,[6] VP, Veep[7]
Salary$284,600 per annum
Websitewww.whitehouse.gov

The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the executive branch[8][9] of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as the president of the Senate. In this capacity, the vice president is empowered to preside over the United States Senate, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote.[10] The vice president is indirectly elected at the same time as the president to a four-year term of office by the people of the United States through the Electoral College, but the electoral votes are cast separately for these two offices.[10] Following the passage in 1967 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the US Constitution, a vacancy in the office of vice president may be filled by presidential nomination and confirmation by a majority vote in both houses of Congress.

The modern vice presidency is a position of significant power and is widely seen as an integral part of a president's administration. The presidential candidate selects the candidate for the vice presidency, as their running mate in the lead-up to the presidential election. While the exact nature of the role varies in each administration, since the vice president's service in office is by election, the president cannot dismiss the vice president, and the personal working-relationship with the president varies, most modern vice presidents serve as a key presidential advisor, governing partner, and representative of the president. The vice president is also a statutory member of the United States Cabinet and United States National Security Council[10] and thus plays a significant role in executive government and national security matters. As the vice president's role within the executive branch has expanded, the legislative branch role has contracted; for example, vice presidents now preside over the Senate only infrequently.[11]

The role of the vice presidency has changed dramatically since the office was created during the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Originally something of an afterthought, the vice presidency was considered an insignificant office for much of the nation's history, especially after the Twelfth Amendment meant that vice presidents were no longer the runners-up in the presidential election. The vice president's role began steadily growing in importance during the 1930s, with the Office of the Vice President being created in the executive branch in 1939, and has since grown much further. Due to its increase in power and prestige, the vice presidency is now often considered to be a stepping stone to the presidency. Since the 1970s, the vice president has been afforded an official residence at Number One Observatory Circle.

The Constitution does not expressly assign the vice presidency to a branch of the government, causing a dispute among scholars about which branch the office belongs to (the executive, the legislative, both, or neither).[11][12] The modern view of the vice president as an officer of the executive branch—one isolated almost entirely from the legislative branch—is due in large part to the assignment of executive authority to the vice president by either the president or Congress.[11][13] Nevertheless, many vice presidents have previously served in Congress, and are often tasked with helping to advance an administration's legislative priorities.

Kamala Harris is the 49th and current vice president of the United States. A former senator, she is the first African American, first Asian American and first female occupant of the office. Harris is the highest ranking female official in United States history. She assumed office on January 20, 2021.

  1. ^ "The conventions of nine states having adopted the Constitution, Congress, in September or October, 1788, passed a resolution in conformity with the opinions expressed by the Convention and appointed the first Wednesday in March of the ensuing year as the day, and the then seat of Congress as the place, 'for commencing proceedings under the Constitution.'

    "Both governments could not be understood to exist at the same time. The new government did not commence until the old government expired. It is apparent that the government did not commence on the Constitution's being ratified by the ninth state, for these ratifications were to be reported to Congress, whose continuing existence was recognized by the Convention, and who were requested to continue to exercise their powers for the purpose of bringing the new government into operation. In fact, Congress did continue to act as a government until it dissolved on the first of November by the successive disappearance of its members. It existed potentially until 2 March, the day preceding that on which the members of the new Congress were directed to assemble."Owings v. Speed, 18 U.S. (5 Wheat) 420, 422 (1820)
  2. ^ Maier, Pauline (2010). Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787–1788. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 433. ISBN 978-0-684-86854-7.
  3. ^ "March 4: A forgotten huge day in American history". Philadelphia: National Constitution Center. March 4, 2013. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  4. ^ Smith, Page (1962). John Adams. Vol. Two 1784–1826. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. p. 744.
  5. ^ Feerick, John. "Essays on Amendment XXV: Presidential Succession". The Heritage Guide to the Constitution. The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  6. ^ "VPOTUS". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  7. ^ "Veep". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  8. ^ Weinberg, Steve (October 14, 2014). "'The American Vice Presidency' sketches all 47 men who held America's second-highest office". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on October 6, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  9. ^ "Vice President". USLegal.com. n.d. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2019. The Vice President of the United States is the second highest executive office of the United States government, after the President.
  10. ^ a b c "Executive Branch: Vice President". The US Legal System. U.S. Legal Support. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c Garvey, Todd (2008). "A Constitutional Anomaly: Safeguarding Confidential National Security Information Within the Enigma That Is the American Vice Presidency". William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal. 17 (2). Williamsburg, Virginia: William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository: 565–605. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  12. ^ Brownell II, Roy E. (Fall 2014). "A Constitutional Chameleon: The Vice President's Place within the American System of Separation of Powers Part I: Text, Structure, Views of the Framers and the Courts" (PDF). Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy. 24 (1): 1–77. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  13. ^ Goldstein, Joel K. (1995). "The New Constitutional Vice Presidency". Wake Forest Law Review. 30. Winston Salem, NC: Wake Forest Law Review Association, Inc.: 505. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.

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